It is meant to be the annual high point of family harmony, but according to
psychologists and divorce lawyers Christmas Day is a time when adulterers
are more likely to be unmasked

Christmas Day is one of the most dangerous moments of the year for cheating spouses living a double life, it has been claimed.

Divorce lawyers have reported a growing trend of Christmas Day “bustings” of unfaithful husbands who, while normally adept at covering their tracks, lower their guard amid the season of goodwill.

The increasing influence of technology in everyday life has, it is claimed, left secret philanderers increasingly exposed.

Where even a few years ago they might have taken care to delete or hide illicit text messages, emails and pictures, constant use of mobile phones is now so second nature to most people that they are becoming less careful, it is thought.

Psychologists have described Christmas Day as a “perfect storm” for exposing infidelity, with the effects of alcohol, high emotions and temporary separation from secret lovers proving too much for some.

Ayesha Vardag, one of Britain’s top divorce lawyers, was the first to identify a spate of Christmas “text message bustings” last year.

Miss Vardag, who has acted in a string of multi-million pound separations including that of the German heiress Katrin Radmacher in her £100 million divorce, said she had noticed Christmas text messages and calls becoming a more regular feature of break-ups.

"Christmas is a real crucible of emotions and everyone is communicating," she said.

"It is particularly because people are suddenly holed up with their family but those in any other relationship are very conscious of being shut out.

"They are going off up the garden to try to make calls and sending messages and then the phone ends up lying around the house."

Voula Grand, a psychologist and novelist, whose book Honor’s Shadow charts marital betrayal, said the high point of Christmas festivities were a time when people start to “do things that they wouldn’t otherwise do and say things that they wouldn’t otherwise say”.

For those maintaining an illicit affair in particular, the risk of being unmasked rises on Christmas Day, she added.

“You have got his intense family time but you have got two families in effect,” she explained.

“You can imagine the pull – you would want to make some contact over that period and I think people would take greater risks.

“The other side of it is that families are home and all together, you haven’t got that time apart where it is easier for you to make contact with your lover.

“It is a perfect storm – everybody has had a few drinks, everybody is talking more, you haven’t got time alone when you could communicate and the temptation is too great.”

Patricia Robinson, a senior associate at Pannone Solicitors, said: “If someone is texting a lover during Christmas lunch with their partner and family then it could be said that they are asking for trouble.

“In my experience, though, it is unusual for evidence of adultery to suddenly come to light. It is more often the case that a husband or wife will become suspicious and then investigate further by checking their partner’s mobile ‘phone and social media pages.

“It is true that the notion something may not be right does sometimes originate as a result of Christmas parties, particularly those involving work colleagues.”